O'Connor and Assoc at 50% vs Ownwell at 25%? Any experience?

Property tax disputes. Any body have any performance comparisons? Why wouldnt we switch?

I use ownwell, betancourt before that. None of them are going to be that outstanding IMO. If your focus is maximum reduction you are probably better off DIY. My goal is just not to get too badly screwed, so I go with the cheaper fee.

Used Ownwell the last two years and won both times. Required minimal to no effort from me. They also got my internet bill cut in half for 18 months.

SGrem said:

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O'Connor and Assoc at 50% vs Ownwell at 25%? Any experience?

Property tax disputes. Any body have any performance comparisons? Why wouldnt we switch?

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Text me if you want to fight yourself and I can tell you my experience with fighting my taxes
979
Eight two o
l87o

I have used 5-Star and Taxprotestmap for my main house - the former sucked (mainly lack of communication). I normally just paid the flat rate (if they had it) to mainly continue to fight taxes. Both were always able to lower it some, but not below the previous 10% increases so they never really made it into their % commissions.

I used Ornwell on a house in Bryan this year and they were able to save some and I paid their %.

I used to do it myself, but had mixed results for the effort put into it.

Anyone in Harris County? Who do you use?

maddiedou said:

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SGrem said:

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O'Connor and Assoc at 50% vs Ownwell at 25%? Any experience?

Property tax disputes. Any body have any performance comparisons? Why wouldnt we switch?

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Text me if you want to fight yourself and I can tell you my experience with fighting my taxes
979
Eight two o
l87o

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Really appreciate the willingness to coach but I have 6 properties and no desire whatsoever to spend the time down there to fight it. So I push the easy button and hire it out.

Grem. I'll just add that I served for four years on our counties Appraisal Review Board. Of all the cases we reviewed in those four years we only turned down a landowners request to not raise his appraisal only about a half a dozen times. In some cases we actually recommended lowering them.
Now, understand that our ARB board was made up of ranchers and landowners. Those ARB's are supposed to made of your "peers".
I don't know how it works in your county or how rural you are but it was kinda the same in our county and our surrounding rural counties. We, as a rural county ARB, really made an effort to listen to each landowners case, look at his comps and evidence, and truly tried to help all we could.
Can't speak for heavily populated blue areas though.
ETA: We actually encouraged folks to make the effort to come do a review and challenge it……

I use P O'Connor even though their take is pretty high. They try again every year it goes up sometimes they have moderate success.

I tried a protest once myself, pulled a bunch of comps and did a comparative analysis, made a nice binder with photos and showing my analysis, and scheduled a meeting. They basically told me it was nice work but all I was able to do is get them to devalue my long driveway as it has zero development potential and they said that I could appeal but that I'm stuck with the results from an arbitration. That's when I hired the pros.

I spent lots of hours and effort for almost nothing doing it myself.

Gunny456 said:

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Grem. I'll just add that I served for four years on our counties Appraisal Review Board. Of all the cases we reviewed in those four years we only turned down a landowners request to not raise his appraisal only about a half a dozen times. In some cases we actually recommended lowering them.
Now, understand that our ARB board was made up of ranchers and landowners. Those ARB's are supposed to made of your "peers".
I don't know how it works in your county or how rural you are but it was kinda the same in our county and our surrounding rural counties. We, as a rural county ARB, really made an effort to listen to each landowners case, look at his comps and evidence, and truly tried to help all we could.
Can't speak for heavily populated blue areas though.
ETA: We actually encouraged folks to make the effort to come do a review and challenge it……

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Awesome feedback as usual.... this would all be Harris and Galveston County.

Yep. Those are probably two tough counties for a ARB. My nephew didn't have much luck in Bexar county either.
Our counties were not heavily populated western hill country counties….where common sense and reason sometimes still prevails.
Wish I could help you somehow.

Ad Valorem tax in Galveston has done mine in Houston. Have done an outstanding job.

I think they are in the 30% range.

Galveston County ARB was super easy to work with, though it took a very long time to get an appointment. They immediately agreed that the proposed value was way out of line and we came to an agreement that was almost exactly (within $100) of what I said it was worth. The whole thing took less than an hour. This was for a property on Bolivar.

SGrem said:

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maddiedou said:

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SGrem said:

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O'Connor and Assoc at 50% vs Ownwell at 25%? Any experience?

Property tax disputes. Any body have any performance comparisons? Why wouldnt we switch?

---

Text me if you want to fight yourself and I can tell you my experience with fighting my taxes
979
Eight two o
l87o

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Really appreciate the willingness to coach but I have 6 properties and no desire whatsoever to spend the time down there to fight it. So I push the easy button and hire it out.

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Okay. No problem. I understand and BCS maybe easier to deal with and plus I live here

And traveling to fight taxes ever-year would be rough because it is a nightmare

The interactions that Inhave had with them can be describe as from holy smokes they were nice to holy **** what pissed them off. Ha

SGrem said:

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Gunny456 said:

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Grem. I'll just add that I served for four years on our counties Appraisal Review Board. Of all the cases we reviewed in those four years we only turned down a landowners request to not raise his appraisal only about a half a dozen times. In some cases we actually recommended lowering them.
Now, understand that our ARB board was made up of ranchers and landowners. Those ARB's are supposed to made of your "peers".
I don't know how it works in your county or how rural you are but it was kinda the same in our county and our surrounding rural counties. We, as a rural county ARB, really made an effort to listen to each landowners case, look at his comps and evidence, and truly tried to help all we could.
Can't speak for heavily populated blue areas though.
ETA: We actually encouraged folks to make the effort to come do a review and challenge it……

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Awesome feedback as usual.... this would all be Harris and Galveston County.

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Real good advice. Arguing property taxes valuations works best in small, rural counties where you're more likely to know the folks sitting on the Appraisal Review Board and they have to look you in the eye when you walk in the local coffee shop and feed store, and where they appreciate you bidding on their kid's or grandkid's 4-H or FFA project down at the county fair. A little different in larger counties where it's harder to know folks.

Yes sir. Well said.

Not in my small rural county, all the board members are town people that rubber stamp the appraisers recommendations. You have to negotiate with the appraiser before you go to the board to get any results here.

If you can prove that you could cause that person a lot of grief from the state comptroller. The whole being of the ARB is to take that info and its solutions/resolves to the appraiser.
Your county is messed up….but you probably already know that.

I emailed the people i have been using for the past 6+ years and said "yall are at 50%, other are at 25%, can you match?"

The said immediately said they'd match. If you like who you're using, it never hurts to ask.